Battle for Earth
by Starry Cosmos
Summary: What must it have been like? The battle between Earth and Homeworld. What happened during that time period when war and destruction put life on the brink of extinction? Through the eyes of a little girl who survives one of those many battles, she can show you. She saves a Crystal Gem, Topaz, and will become part of the Crystal Gems to continue defending her home, and the gems.
1. Chapter 1: The Pink Lady

**_Hey guys! ^-^_**

This is my first time publishing a story based on a fandom I am currently in. Steven Universe is by far one of the best cartoon shows ever aired in its era. Rebecca Sugar is a huge influence on why I decided to even start jotting my ideas into stories to begin with! She has touched many hearts with feels and moralistic stories, including mine, and surely yours. Now I want to share with you my theories!

I have a few ideas I hope to bring to life with the best of my ability. Remember, these are just theories, but who knows! Maybe they're true!  
I definitely want to get you, the reader, to think, feel, and connect with this world in this fanfic, ESPECIALLY with the new characters, and the main character whom you will be viewing things through her perspective, and occasionally other characters perspective's too. The characters you will be reading in this fanfic from the show are Rose Quartz, Pearl, Garnet, Ruby, Sapphire, Jasper, Yellow Diamond, Blue Diamond, and the Yellow and Blue Pearls that belong to the Diamonds we've seen in the show so far. (Sorry, Amethyst isn't around yet.)

I actually have not written or even read a fanfic out of Steven Universe (Busy Busy Busy). So I want to be as original as possible! If I accidently have a character or scene where you go, "HEY! That's mine!" I want to make it very, very , VERY CLEAR, that I did NOT copy from anybody. I just have my imagination and the show itself as references, and of course life.

 ** _Usually in warfare, we see in the perspective of both sides of the battle, but hardly through the eyes of the innocent and clueless. We as fans don't know anything (YET) about what the war was like firsthand on Earth, or what events took place when Rose Quartz was around as the leader of the Crystal Gems. We just know it was filled with mass destruction and death, as Garnet puts it... As bad as that sounds, I want to exhibit as much heart and beauty into life in a world where death is becoming too common place._**

I hope you enjoy!~  
-Starry

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

 _I recall that moment clearly. It all happened so fast. And so many things were happening at once. It was hard to keep track of a single moment at all, but there will always be that one moment I remember significantly._

 _The day I thought my life was over._

"FIRST WAVE!" cried out one of the many gems that were serving at our defense. "Protect the humans, and stand your ground!" A giant silhouette stood at the center of an army of warriors that were not of this world. Their leader was just as I had imagined her to be. The rumors were true. There in the battlefield stood out this shade of pink, along with a rainbow variety of colors that were prepared to clash sides. She must have been the leader, she has to be.

She wore a light pink dress, despite being in a battlefield, and she had so much hair that it reminded me of a lion's mane with its luscious pink curls. In the midst of all of this hatred and war between two perspectives over our existence and worth, this woman stood like a goddess, a savior to humanity and the earth itself.

The pink lady stared off into the distance as a roar of rampaging warriors was headed right toward her and the many lives behind her. The woman in pink raised her sword and off went her own army to defend our colony. We were under attack. We didn't know by who or what or why, but what we did know was clear. It wasn't safe wherever these warriors fought. And they were _everywhere._

Many of us populated the Eastern lands. It was a good source of crops and cultivation of many civilizations. We had heard rumors of cities being attacked, often becoming wastelands, and the witnesses were thought to have been crazy in their descriptions of what force caused such destruction for such populous colonies to perish.

They were described as warriors of various sizes and colors. They were thought to be some kind of immortal beings that have been on earth for as long as we have. The only difference it seems is that while humanity began on earth, these warriors were not _from_ earth. What did this mean? We didn't know the term at the time. Many of us never even witnessed the beings ourselves and lived. Every time a colony encountered such beings, it was always because a great battle would take place. If anyone were to be caught seeing the beings in battle, it would usually be considered a sign that your end has come.

And my colony, my home, was unfortunate enough to become the next target.

It appeared that there was _a lot_ we didn't know, even though many rumors were heard. Who were the beings fighting? Are they _our_ enemy if they have brought great misfortune to many civilizations? The answers were bizarre and theoretical. That's the issue with rumors. Most of the time, they are never true, and yet they spread like wildfire far and wide.

My favorite rumor though was that these beings were magical and powerful, and their ruler was known as 'The Goddess in Pink.' Pink was a rare color to find. Only flowers bloomed in such a shade. We had yet not obtained the ability to recreate the color in fabric material. So to hear this only made me believe that this 'Goddess' was powerful and good. Maybe these beings truly were deities. Even though I had known that these warriors would only bring misfortune if seen, I wanted to see her myself.

Since my home was targeted, this was my chance. And there she was in the heat of battle! I would never be able to get close enough to see her up close and live. Although I had wanted to see her, what I saw was much more confusing to me than what the rumors had said.

 _These warriors…were fighting against warriors of their own kind._

That was about the only thing I was able to think about before being pushed and shoved in a hoard of panicked citizens attempting to save themselves.

The forest would be the best location to hide. Large masses of us entered the forest and disappeared into the shadows. Shouts and screams of terror flooded those masses of warriors that were clashing with other warriors, causing fires and great explosions due to the power created clash after clash. I could see why many people didn't live after their colonies were targeted, even with advanced military and preparation. These beings were so much more powerful than any military I had ever known. The best option was to escape and wait until the battle was over, hopefully soon.

I couldn't help but look over my shoulder and stare at that pink giantess that stood out from the hellish battlefield like a flower in a storm, unharmed and so captivating. I eventually entered the forest and could no longer see the battle taking place, although the noise only fueled my imagination into what horror was occurring right behind me. I stopped heading deeper into the forest where everyone else was running towards. If I climbed a tree, I would be able to see the battle and spot the pink lady. I needed to see what was happening out there without getting too close. And so I climbed up hurriedly into one of the many trees that would be the easiest to climb. When I got near the top of the tree with only a few scrapes and blisters, the battle appeared much larger in perspective.

It was a horrifying sight as countless of those warriors, tall, short, and big, from both sides of the battlefield, were being destroyed as they clashed. With wave after wave, it seemed endless. Every color I could think of was in this large cloud that began to grow as the battle continued. It made it difficult to see what was going on. I was getting frustrated because I couldn't see her anymore, the lady in pink. Was she still standing? All I could hear was the clashing of weapons, the screams and shouts of orders or falling soldiers.

Was it just me, or was this battle getting louder and louder? I realized that the battle was coming closer to the forest. I had a perfect view of it now. Through the colored dust and clouds of dirt appeared warriors attempting to enter the forest, but were being taken down by other warriors that I assume was not on the same side as theirs. I clung tighter onto the trunk of the tree. I was too frozen in fear to climb down the tree and retreat into the densest parts of the forest with everyone else. My tree was still on the outskirts of the dense forestry. If the battle was moving towards the forest, I was definitely going to be caught in the battle by the time I touched the ground.

This was it, I thought. I won't make it. I'm trapped. I can't move! I'm so scared… Fear was overwhelming me and making me shiver and cry at the realization that this was the end for me…All because of my cursed curiosity getting the best of me. But what did it matter now to regret my poor decision? I looked away and buried my face into the trunk of the tree, hoping no one would see me and kill me where I was if I just stayed out of it. But when I turned away from looking at the battle, I peeked beyond the tops of the vast trees where I was certain everyone else was going to survive by hiding in the depths. It was only then that I noticed something shiny flying across the sky just then. I kept my eye on it as it darted from the heavens toward the battlefield, but at my perspective, it looked like it was heading right for me. When it dived towards the valley where the battle was taking place, it began hovering over the tops of the trees I was looking at where everyone should be gathered in hiding. I thought it was coming towards the battle to cause more death, violence, and destruction, but no, instead it stayed afloat above the forest and was beginning to drop something square and metallic into the forest. I would say it was about the size of a house. It was too far away for me to see any further detail besides its shape. The thing that flew over the forest and had been floating for only a moment suddenly darted away back towards the sky where it emerged, then disappeared without a trace.

Was that an attack? That was a brief encounter. I remained clung to my tree trunk dumbfounded, just when I thought these beings couldn't get any more confusing…I felt my stomach churn when the earth began to rumble, joined with a vibration that I could feel within the very tree I was on. I didn't know what was happening, but this didn't look too good, or SOUND too good either. Through the trees, birds and other wildlife were fleeing from the forest in that instant. All at once, the forest came to life with the sounds of distressed creatures that were leaving the forest in all directions, even towards the battle by the edge of the forest. Something was happening, and if these animals were running away toward the battlefield of all places instead of staying within their safer location, then something bad was about to happen…

The forest wasn't safe after all.

The last thing I remember seeing was white. There was a light. It was so blindingly bright. Like a shooting star landed on the earth and caused an explosion. The source of it was toward the direction where everyone had gone, where that box had been dropped off just minutes ago. It was a loud earsplitting sound that shook the very foundation of the earth in a great quake. All of the warriors that had been fighting at our defense, including the pink lady, were brought to a halt. They all stared with horrific expressions on their faces. I was closer to the source of the explosion to even have a moment to react. I had to cover my eyes; otherwise I would be blinded by the light. This was a mistake. Because I reflexively covered my eyes, I wasn't gripping onto the tree. The light and noise was enough to make my head want to explode, but the pulsing heat wave that came soon after that light first appeared literally blew me off my tree by the shear impact and power. I was unable save myself from the impact. I fell onto the ground as the tremors continued to pulse. Since I was now lying flat on the ground, the tremors had little effect here, but the ground was still shaking, I could feel the earth moving more than ever down here than I did on the tree. I kept my eyes shut and ears covered, the sound and the light weren't that harmful to my senses if I did this. I had to wait it out. It felt never ending, but eventually the waves of energy and heat were fading, along with the noise and light. The ground stopped shaking; now it was only me that was shaking…

The warriors that were much further behind me were taken aback by the force, but had a much firmer footing on the ground and were much more prepared for this kind of attack. The pink lady barely budged from where she stood. She was in shock, along with a majority of the warriors. Everyone was probably thinking the same thing.

 _What just happened?..._

When the waves died down almost entirely, my ears were numb from applying so much pressure into concealing them from hearing anything. I remained shivering on the ground, not even daring to look up after that overwhelming display of disaster. I was begging whatever gods existed for all of this to be just one big nightmare. This wasn't happening. Whatever happened didn't really happen. It was just a.. bad.. dream…

There where I lay, I lost consciousness.

Everything went from being white and earsplittingly loud, to dark…And _silent_.


	2. Chapter 2: I Found You

**Chapter 2**

* * *

I blinked, finding myself lying on the ground, covered in dirt. I lifted my head up slowly, peeking through my hair over my face. Where was I? Nothing was recognizable to me. It was eerily quiet. I slowly shifted where I was laying and sat myself up. My energy was slowly returning to me, but I still felt weak and exhausted. No matter where I looked, it was all the same. The heavy smog that surrounded me made me cough when I took a breath in. Where was…anything? Where was I? No direction was clear to me. I could barely see within a few feet from where I was sitting. The only sound that could be heard was my own breathing and heart beating. I couldn't help but feel like…

This wasn't home anymore…

To think that just moments ago that there was a gruesome battle taking place here. And now it seemed like there was no one left standing from the battle. _Pick a direction to go, and start walking_ , I thought. It took me a moment after finally standing up, but I picked a direction that seemed promising to me. I took my time slowly walking through the thick haze, a mixture of rainbow colors swirling like vapor in the air. How strange.. Even if I waved it aside to see where I was going, it wouldn't help me see any more clearly. I was barefoot, stepping through the grass hesitantly as I tried to see where I was going to the best of my ability. I had just woken up on the ground after who knows how long. There was still light in the day though, so at least I didn't wake up in the dark, which would have been worse. The forest was gone when I regained my consciousness. It was the first thing I noticed. The tree I was on was unrecognizable, everything felt…different. All of the trees were withered, losing nearly all of its leaves and branches. Everything looked so... _dead._

 _Was there anyone else here? Where did everyone go?_

I stopped walking when I felt my feet step on something sharp, it felt like glass. I looked around, still unable to see anything but the rainbow colored fog surrounding me. I took a small step forward, and then had to jump back realizing that there was more glass on the floor than expected. It seemed like no matter where I stepped, there were tiny sharp shards all over the ground. This was confusing to me. These weren't here before. I picked one of the shards up to figure out what to make of it. It was reddish and sort of round on one side. The ground revealed whenever sunlight managed to make its way through the ominous rainbow colored fog, that there were more than just a few shards on the ground, and more than one color too. Whatever these were, they littered the entire village as I continued to walk around, looking for signs of life. I could barely make out the silhouette of any structure or tree. It appeared as a shadow to me. It made my surroundings all the more mysterious and silent. No one else was here it seemed, except me.

My feet were beginning to sting. I had been stepping on these pieces for a while, and they were probably cutting up the soles of my feet by now, making them bleed. I was so confused and getting really tired of walking around aimlessly through this weird fog. There was nowhere truly safe to sit on the ground, so I decided to sit on a tree that had been chopped down by something, leaving it lying on the ground to conveniently make a bench for me to sit on for the time being. "Ow.." I hissed as I was rubbing my feet. I tore a part of my dress into two strips to wrap around my feet to help with the cuts and scrapes. After looking at my feet, I realized what a total mess I was. I was covered in dirt and dust. I have bruises and scrapes all over my arms and legs. And my hair was so tangled, I didn't even bother to braid it like how I liked to. I had no energy to do anything.

I was able to give my feet a break for now. I felt them continue to sting regardless.. I began to imagine what happened down here while I was on that tree. Looking back was confusing. All I saw were scenes of fights, a great battle, and I was running away from it. But then I decided to climb a tree so I can see what was going on. And then…?

I couldn't remember quite well what happened next. So much happened. Did any of it even make sense?

Did all of those warriors fight to the death? Why were there a bunch of pieces of glass all over the floor everywhere I walked? Where did all of their bodies go if any of them were slain? Why is this fog so colorful? That last question seemed like the most harmless of all.

As a child, I didn't know much to begin with. But as a human, I knew even less.

I began to cry, realizing that everyone truly was gone the longer I sat. They either all left without taking me with them, or something worse happened. I can't be the only one still here, could I? I sniffled and tried to find comfort by hugging my knees to my chest.

 _Hello?...Somebody…?_

I wasn't sure how much time had passed before I noticed how the sun was beginning to set. I hadn't moved from where I sat. I was getting hungry and was tempted to fall asleep curled up in this position. I didn't want to walk anymore. I didn't even know where else to go.

The last gleams of sunshine were coming through the colorful fog, revealing how the grass on the ground was coated with various sizes of shards of all colors. One of them seemed to sparkle in the sunlight, catching my attention due to the intense gleam of its gold coloring. It was not too far from me, and I could see that it was a big piece. I found the energy to get up and carefully make my way toward it, toward that glow. It shined like star. It was a yellowish, golden, amber color. When I was standing right in front of it, I bent down to pick it up. That was when I noticed, when I carefully held it to avoid getting hurt, that it was a whole piece. It was so big that it fit on both palms of my scratched up, dirty hands. This didn't have any sharpness to it. It was perfectly smooth and round. It was very different from all of the other pieces on the ground. This was the first whole one I had seen since I first entered what was left of my village. When I raised it up to the sky so that the sun could hit it with its rays of light once again, that beautiful color seemed to sparkle like the sun itself. What a spectacle sight.

Someone must have dropped this. This was a…hmm, I knew the term from somewhere.. Oh yeah, a jewel! Someone dropped a huge jewel. It made me wonder.. are all of these pieces, pieces of whole jewels like this one? This one didn't get destroyed though. That's weird.

It survived, just like me.

"I guess it's just you and me." I muttered to myself, holding the yellow jewel in my hands. I went back to the tree trunk and sat on it as I examined the jewel more carefully. "Looks like we both survived whatever happened here." I wiped my face as I began to tear up again. I used whatever tears trickling down my cheeks to wash the jewel and make it even more sparkly and clean. That was when I noticed that it had a scratch on it that gave it an unsmooth finish on one side, but not the other. I sighed, looking down at the jewel as I continued to cry silently.

Look at me. I'm talking to a rock. A very pretty rock, but it's lifeless to me. We were both survivors from mass destruction, and yet I was somehow finding comfort holding it in my hands. I brought it close to my chest, sobbing quietly to myself. I was still alone with nowhere to go.

I guess in a way, we were both broken somewhere, but still whole and beautiful despite what we've been through and what we've seen. We somehow made it.

* * *

"Let's start retrieving those that have fallen."

"But Rose, what if these shards belong to Homeworld gems?"

"That doesn't matter. The fallen have fallen. And it would be best to take what remains instead of letting them reform as they are."

Through the fog, multiple groups of warriors that survived the battle began to grab handfuls of the broken shards and bubble them to preserve their remains. The leader that fought to defend this part of the planet stood in solitude, looking down with deep sorrow upon the many shards that lay before her feet. A thin and pale warrior came by her side, expressing concern.

"Rose?" asked the pale warrior, not meaning to interfere in her leader's time of mourning. Her curly pink hair and light pink dress gently swayed as the seemingly giant warrior turned to acknowledge her ally. "Pearl, are there any sign of survivors?" Rose sounded hopeful when she asked her.

Pearl bowed her head, solemnly sighing, "That is what I came to report. It will take some time to salvage every shard we can find, but it looks like there's not a trace of life…of any kind."

Rose's eyes widened at the news, she had to look away to fight back the overwhelming feelings of sorrow. "I see."

Pearl quickly came to her aid, not wanting to upset her by being the bearer of bad news. "B-But look at the bright side, we won this battle. The Homeworld gems retreated and-"

"They retreated because they had set a trap." A calm tone cut off the pale gem from attempting to console their leader. A tall, stern gem stepped forward. She adjusted her sunglasses as their attention was brought to her. She stood just barely underneath the height of their great leader of their rebellion in shades of red and black. From her tone to her attitude, she was quite expressionless in comparison of the two. "If we didn't fight back, they would have destroyed all of the humans. If we defended the humans, then they would make the humans retreat into the forest where they had set up a trap that would kill them anyway. There were no other options. Homeworld was ready to take drastic measures...There was nothing we could have done to prevent this. It's not your fault." She spoke bluntly, but in her tone was a hint of disappointment and sympathy for the events that occurred.

"But.." Rose looked at the two gems that stood before her, each of them waiting for her response after hearing the unbearable truth. She put her hands together, regaining her composure. With a gloomy expression that didn't suit the beautiful gem that she was to her followers, she quietly spoke, "I suppose, we did our best…but I wish we could have done more for them."

Rose walked between the two gems to look yonder from where they stood at the sunset. Down below was the valley, but it was completely engulfed by a cloud of color, and the forest that had lavished there, was gone. She furrowed her brow in acknowledgement of the reason behind the existence of the 'rainbow fog' and the disappearance of the forest..

"Homeworld doesn't care about how many gems fall under their authority, as long as they do as they're ordered by their Diamonds, more and more gems will be sacrificed for this cause. And every time we gain more followers, I always ask if they understand our cause and the price it will take to defend the life on this planet…All to fight against the greed of the rulers we once followed. It's too much to ask of everyone and yet if we don't fight back we.. they.." She closed her eyes and bowed her head, thinking about the lost lives that fell within that valley with her arms outstretched. She didn't need to continue her statement.. It was clear what would happen if they didn't try to defend the life on Earth.

For a moment, she remained quiet and still, like a statue. She focused on the breeze and the fresh air. The breeze was stronger on top of the hill. It was a refreshing feeling you can't recreate. Her hair and dress seemed to glow into a brighter shade of pink as the last of the suns warm rays began to disappear. With a deep breath, her hair began to release pink flower petals along the breeze.

This was her way of mourning. In an instant, the wind picked up the pink petals and spread them far and wide down the valley below. Gems that were already down there picking up the pieces of shards across the land stopped what they were doing and looked up as they saw at the top of the hill, their leader performing one of her many magical abilities. Everyone looked at the pink petals in awe. Their sweet scent filled the air and reassured their saddened hearts.

No matter what, Rose knew she had to remain strong and set an example as leader of the Crystal Gems. She felt her hands being held in that instant. She opened her eyes and found the two of her closest friends holding her hands when she was finished. "I always love it when you do that." Pearl smiled gently as the three of them looked down and marveled at the contrast of the rainbow that the air held in place and the pink flower petals raining into the colors. It just made the scenery so breathtakingly beautiful. Pearl leaned against Rose's arm, gazing out into the last glimpse of the sun that remained before it disappeared completely at the earth's horizon.

"I'm heading back to base." Rose exclaimed, feeling much better after using her magic and seeing one of nature's most beautiful sights. "Garnet, Pearl, tell all of the others that as soon as they finish cleaning up, to double check for any shards left behind. Also, if any human remains are found, bury them properly, even if it takes them all night. It's the least we could do for them."

Garnet and Pearl nodded and went ahead to opposite sides of the valley to tell the rest of their allies of their leader's orders. This gave Rose time to herself to cope from the failure she still felt in being unable to save this valley's fate. She could spend a moment in solitude and create an even more effective battle strategy against Homeworld. She won't dare let this planet fall into the hands of Homeworld, even if she was the only gem willing to fight for it. Thankfully, she had loyal friends that believed in her and in the cause. She promised herself that this would not happen again.

In a flash, she disappeared and left everyone else to tend to their duties so she could tend to hers. All that was left from where she once stood was a trace of pink rose petals.


End file.
